Running for a New Nigeria: Fela Durotoye’s Alternative Universe and the Race to 2019

I have recently cleared the air about Fela Durotoye’s role in the previous administrations. No one can blame him for who they voted in 2015. He, like everyone of us, was a voter and he has every right to have an opinion about his voting decision.

I believe it is a perpetual fact that for as long as our leaders continue to “mesca-deliver”; as long as they continue to give us messed up, Nollywood-style leaderships, we have a right to consider alternatives. We even have a right to consider undesirable alternatives like PMB represented in 2015.

We have all agreed that Nigerian politics is a pendulum swinging between two parties. Someone else had to try.

So what is the way forward? Now people are of the opinion that Mr. Nigeria (Fela Durotoye) is nothing both a grammarian. Is the grammar and high sounding intellectual talks enough to unseat PMB?

Sometimes, I watch the YouTube videos and wonder if FD is really serious about replacing the present political parties. Honestly, Nigerians want to see someone rolling his sleeves throwing reckless shade and doing what would amount to scandal.

I believe FD, in a bid to stay neutral and scandal-free and protect a brand he has built over many years, may be losing the media war and losing the people’s attention.

What has been FD’s Strategy so Far?

The campaign so far has been subtle. He only recently made it clear that he would be vying for the presidential seat. Even after this, he still tags it “running for a new Nigeria“. It seems to a large number of Nigerians that the body language for his school of thought is more placating than confrontational.

Perhaps FD’s strategy is one that believes that all humans are innately good and thus must not be seen as outrightly evil. He obviously believes in the spirit of dialogue and, in this case, if possible, he would talk his way into the heart of Aso Rock.

But is this going to happen in any version of our reality in Nigeria? A nation where senators accuse governors of assassination attempts?

In this nation where the military has been accused of colluding with herdsmen and religious murders?

If FD wants to make a serious statement, people generally are asking for more than neutrality. A lot of issues happening remain unaddressed and the population wants a mouthpiece.

Most of us want to know what Mr. Nigeria recommends about the raging Land Use Charge issues in Lagos. Then of course, there is the need to speak sense into Audu Ogbeh regarding their complacence towards cattle rearing and incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen.

There are trending matters like the disappearance of WAEC funds. The recent controversial arms funds signed by the Presidency. These issues are not going away anytime soon, and anyone who must lead Nigerians would have to be caught in the crossfire of opinions and counter opinions.

Yes, in an alternative universe, the politicians would visit at a TV station and get into comfortable jumpers sharing tit-bits and valuable nuggets on how to live life abundantly. They would not be busy making life unbearable for millions of Nigerians. In an alternative reality, Nigerians would not be faced by real problems resultant from bad policies, the fear of danger both from criminals and security agents.

This is time for FD to start seeking some crossfire. It would not only influence the capacity of his campaign to capture more airspace and views, it would trigger a more decisive stance for alternatives. Nigerians will not look away from a two-party system if there is nothing worth looking at.

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Damilola is quite fascinated by the workings of the human mind, he writes with a goal to build the mind of readers. He has written a number of unpublished short stories and poems, some can be found on his blog (jonathanoladeji.wordpress.com). He loves to create beautiful ideas through short stories and poems.

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